Ready To Race?

4 days to go.

Am I ready to race? That is the question I continually ask myself right around this time.

Really, the bigger question is, am I ready to race well? Because of course I am ready to race. I haven't raced since June 4...six weeks ago, and I have so few races this year that I am looking forward to every single one of them. My mind is ready to go-go-go! But I then start to wonder...is my body?

I am asking my body to swim, bike, and run a little harder/faster than I have done in training this entire year when I go to a race. Well, a lot harder/faster in some cases! I would love to wow you guys with some cool data about how all of my 100 milers are 20+ mph and my long runs are 7 min pace, etc... but that isn't happening. They are all good and strong, relative to me, but probably pedestrian to a lot of people and certainly not brag worthy in any number-data sort of way. The long stuff has me feeling very strong, but fast? I don't have any feedback for fast.

In 2008, I remember having similar feelings when I started doing longer triathlons. Coming from road racing and sprint tris as my hobbies of choice, I was used to having a lot of feedback on paces and expected times. I was doing speedwork on the track weekly, and I could tell you exactly what pace I could/should probably hold for a 5k, etc... I was also jumping into tons of local running races on the weekend. I was constantly running quickly. I had my compass for speed. But, as I added miles to the program, I couldn't race as often and I started to lose that great feeling you have when you feel fit-fast. (because fit-fast feels a lot different than fit-strong).

As I fretted away, Jen sent me a little article from a magazine that featured Kate O'Neill on marathoning. She said she thought about me when she read it as I worried about getting slower and not knowing how fast I could race (I still have the article).
Kate wrote:

"In high school and college, I was accustomed to racing almost every weekend," she says. "Those races were a good way of measuring progress throughout the season. When I am preparing for a marathon, that one race becomes my sole focus. I can't race nearly as often. The high mileage and the long workouts do not leave enough energy in my legs for racing until the big day."

Yes, so when I am training for the half iron and iron distances, I have more miles on my legs, and my training is strong and steady, but not necessarily speed and pace oriented. And can I use the excuse that the 100+ degree heat might be affecting my pace as well? I just don't get the weekly feedback on speed. On top of that, I can't race a lot, so I don't have race feedback for confidence. So setting time goals for races right now is just a complete crap-shoot. I honestly don't know. I could be faster or slower. Really.

And it is funny how I can fret about it for a couple of days. Despite the past 6 weeks of training, I can still manage to think at times, "I am out of shape." But then I will get to the race, and the minute we line up I will forget all of that and just go with the moment. Which is why racing is so much fun- because I won't know until I do it!